Misty Forest — Welcome Some Wild

From a walk, yesterday. Through forest. Along very steep embankment. Near the top of Cates Hill, on Bowen Island.

There is plenty that is / was breath-taking to me. The steepness of the hill. The full on greenness, that included ground-covering fern and towering trees. The mistiness of it, drizzling rain (because it’s really temporary living in a cloud). And of course, the wander that was only bounded by the end of a session of The Circle Way Board Retreat and then the call to communal dinner.

There’s plenty of why for me in this breath-taking. I suppose most fundamentally is that as the human that I am, I seek more of the feeling of wild. Of abundant and natural life. Of impressive beauty.

And because, sincerely, cultivating this wildness in groups, and the selves that contribute to a group, is utterly necessary.

I’m grateful for such walks, hills, and forests (and the ease of phone in pocket to have a photo of a moment).

 

Snug Cove — Arrivals

Yesterday was a travel and arrival day. The where, geographically, was Bowen Island, off the west coast of mainland British Columbia. This is unceded traditional land of the Squamish peoples. It’s a place that I’ve been to, likely twenty times over the last 16 years. It’s been a combination of visits with friends, hosting Art of Hosting gatherings, and men’s retreats.

Snug Cove. It’s where the ferry from Horseshoe Bay arrives. It’s where a community that lives on Bowen Island connects with first the water of Howe Sound off the Strait of Georgia, of the Salish Sea. I love the “black and white” tones in this photo, that I caught from the arriving ferry. It’s the richness found in a more narrowed spectrum of color. I love the clouds, not parting, but being touched by the later afternoon sun. Ah, yes, touched by the sun is another of those desires for me. And I love the arrival to an island, a place that feels familiar, yet holds immense mystery and journey for me. There is always more. There is always a revisit that is possible.

Yesterday’s arrival began with conversations that reacquaint a few of us on The Circle Way Board. It included the car ride from Vancouver’s airport, through the city to North Vancouver. Though this was mostly social time for the four of us on route, it didn’t take long to get to a couple of the most significant, pressing, and yet avoided and neglected conversations of our times, societally speaking.

One, was around the denied history of colonization and impact of settler. One of my friends references this history as “pre-contact.” There’s a history here in Canada that is so much more that 152 years as a commonwealth nation. There were peoples here before white people arrived. There was violence. Confusion. Loss. Betrayal.

Two, was around the denied history of enslavement as means to capital gain. Slavery has happened in many parts of the world over history. In the United States, it’s one of those access points to a much needed awakening to a history that hasn’t been, nor is, “land of the free.”

My point here isn’t to go into the details of these neglects. Only to name them. And only to do so as a kind of appreciation for moving with open heart, and mind, and belly in to what matters, quite quickly with my friends and colleagues.

There are many things that matter. Many conversations. Many questions. Many realizations. In North America, these are two of the most upstream conversations I know, that have so much impact and pain downstream, today.

I’m glad to arrive to Snug Cove yesterday. In geography. And in friendship that leads to richness, hue, mystery and journey in encounters inner and outer.

The Art of Hosting — Bowen Island

 

As Chris Corrigan shares, this is an annual event since 2004. Bowen Island is a home among homes for me. Because of the friends there, particularly Chris and Caitlin. Because of the experience. I learn there. I grow there. I laugh there. I breath a bit more deeply. I have memories planted there.

This video, 12 minutes in length, tells a bit of a story about what happens there. Scott Macklin, a participant at the 2017 version of this is the videographer — oh I love these skills to put story into film. It’s fun to see.

I also love the language and story that each of us as cohosts — Chris Corrigan, Caitlin Frost, Amanda Fenton, me, and Teresa Posakony (not featured in this film, but has been part of the Bowen story over the years) — were able to share, and these reflections from participants.

For those of you curious, please watch. Or come sign up for The Art of Hosting Bowen Island, November 2018.

Geese on Bowen

Some things are just too beautiful to pass up. Particularly when phones come so conveniently with our phones.

These geese and goslings were just off the path I was walking last week with friend Caitlin Frost on Bowen Island, near the lagoon next to Deep Bay.

I loved the reflections in the water. One goose on the lookout. One eating. The goslings being in the newness of life.

I loved the walk with a friend.